Sorry I haven't been writing, but my hands have been otherwise occupied holding a steaming mug of tea in order to stay warm. It is freezing here. And by here, I mean in our apartment. For a country that is known for wacky inventions, you would think they could do something mundane, like build a well insulated home, but no..... so here I sit, shoulders hunched, drinking lots and lots of tea.

The good news is I have come to truly appreciate the heated toilet seat, as that seems to be the warmest place in the house. It's too bad there is a breeze coming through the bathroom that makes, well, how do I put this..............at least there is one warm body part.

There are parts of the apartment you could swear were really outside. Anywhere within 5 feet of a window is actually breezy. The bedrooms are freezing because the front door, no matter what we do to it, spews out freezing cold air and any room past it is the recipient of all that cold air. We tried caulking, but it did no good. We bought a couple of space heaters, thinking we could use those instead of the regular heat that comes from the ceiling and goes right out the windows and doors, but now we use them both, adding to an already outrageous electric bill - yes, the heating is electric.

There is an entire industry here based on products to keep warm - slippers, shawls, heaters, heated carpets, foot warmers, heaters of all shapes and sizes as most people have the same problem as we do.

One of my favorite products is the little foot warmers you get in the drug store - there are two kinds; ones that stick to your socks and others that slip into your shoes. As you step on them, they warm up and keep warm for several hours. I have taken to wearing them in the house as they seem to make the difference between "nice" wifey san and evil "I'm cold and therefore in a bad mood" wifey san.

I was just in what used to be Jed's room and it was 10 degrees Celsius, which translates into 50 degrees Fahrenheit. No wonder he decided to spend his senior year back in the warmth of Maryland.

The coffee mugs must be put in the microwave in the morning so the coffee stays hot - the good news is that the champagne glasses are always chilled, but it is really too cold for champagne. The butter, left out on the counter to keep soft, is not; rather it is hard as a rock.

And this is how we watch tv:

Bali, here we come!!!!!!!